It came from the London Correspondent for the Telegraph, Matt Law, reporting that we've agreed terms with him a few weeks ago, but hadn't yet agreed the fee with Arsenal.
Thomas Vermaelen
- Thread starter Santos J
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Our squad is miles ahead.. they didnt even have half decent full backs and were running on Robben, RvP and De Jong..LvG actually pulled off a miracle getting that team there.. He admitted after the Spain game that had he played 4-3-3, Spain wiuld have easily won..
Don't like this potential signing at all. Not because I doubt his quality but because I'm not convinced he'll stay free of injuries long enough to be a meaningful addition to the squad. Wrestling marquinhos away from psg would be a far better signing.
I read Wenger wants either Chris or Phil plus cash Vermaelen. That just cant happen.
The only way it would be a good signing is if we got him for about £4 million as he's in his last year of contract and therefore should be valued a lot lower than his max £10 million fee if he was completely injury free and on form. And then used him as 4th choice CB
I think Wenger making a deal difficult/impossible, asking for Smalling in px is a showstopper.
When did this become accepted in football? Wasn't it against the rules to even talk to a player under contract without his clubs permission at one stage? Now deals are done with the player before the club is even contacted.
Agents mate. When you 'talk to the player' I imagine you're talking via the agent.
The club can get permission to speak to the player eventhough no fee has been agreed yet (but starteg negotiations). Madrid did that with James as well
He is a player that suits that 3 at the back in my opinion. Will be happy for him to join for 10m or under.
Things are looking a little clearer now that LVG wants to play 343. Vermalen is ideally suited to being the left sided of the back three, good on the ball, left footed and mobile enough to be comfortable in the wide areas.
If Arsenal aren't too sticky over the fee he looks a near certain signing.
If Arsenal aren't too sticky over the fee he looks a near certain signing.
I don't really rate him as a defender. He's not always fully concentrated or aware, whcih has led to him playing people onside Buttner-style quite a few times. But the non-defensive parts - he's good at.
He's from the Ajax school of football, so he'll be suited and clued up for a fluid system where he'll be expected to play with the ball and move about to different areas of the pitch.
He's not bad, and the interest makes sense due to the Ajax links and the fact that he's not as costly as the superior Vertonghen.
If we are definitely sticking with 3 at the back then I would much rather get Vertonghen. Fecking Spurs and Levy means that is not gonna happen though.
Almost everyone would prefer Vertonghen, even for £10-15 million more. But as you say, Levy's not letting him go to anyone in England (especially us) even for £30 million.
For over £10m, this transfer wouldn't make any sense. If we are that interested in having a left-footed CB, there are still better options, like Vertonghen and Lovren, who would of course be more expensive. I'd rather have one of those two than Vermaelen (defending) or Martins Indi (on-ball ability) who have their clear lacks.
Worst case scenario would be giving them Smalling or Jones in exchange.
Worst case scenario would be giving them Smalling or Jones in exchange.
Martins Indi went to Porto no?
Either way Vertonghen would be a solid choice but as you said Levy is a tough man to negotiate with.
May make sense if we have Vermelean and Evans either side of Smalling/Jones in the centre of the 3. Two ball playing CB's and a destroyer in the middle.
Only slight problem is Evans being left footed but he seems very adept at using his right foot and it shouldn't be too much of a problem. We would still need to bring in another CB to provide cover, 5 CB's for 3 spaces is enough with Keane in reserve if need be.
This is all based on us going with the 3-5-2 formation of course.
Only slight problem is Evans being left footed but he seems very adept at using his right foot and it shouldn't be too much of a problem. We would still need to bring in another CB to provide cover, 5 CB's for 3 spaces is enough with Keane in reserve if need be.
This is all based on us going with the 3-5-2 formation of course.
Evans is right-footed and very adept using his left foot, actually. He's just so good on the ball, so good with his left that he's always been a right-footed LCB. Van Gaal has always had a leftfooted CB, and despite Evans being good with his left he might still want one.
Vermael IN!
Wasn't too sure about our link with him at the start but after watching us play 3 at the back last night we need to improve the defensive 3 and I think an injured-free Vermaelen would be highly beneficial for us on the left side of the 3. He's very comfortable on the ball with good feet, I'd happily see 10 million spent on him.
...................De Gea
........Jones..Hummels..Vermaelen
Rafael.....................................Shaw
.............Herrera----Herrera
...................Herrera
.........Herrera..........Van Persie
...................De Gea
........Jones..Hummels..Vermaelen
Rafael.....................................Shaw
.............Herrera----Herrera
...................Herrera
.........Herrera..........Van Persie
If that's the case then Evans-Smalling/Jones-Vermelean. A natural defender flanked by two who can play out of defence, one left footed, one right footed.
Wenger seems not willing to do business on this one, for a reasonable amount.. Talk about cash plus Smalling, etc doesn't represent a good deal on our part. Bitta bad blood over RvP maybe?
This deal should have been completed already, and the club shouldn't be holding out for him, I mean he's hardly the top drawer.
This deal should have been completed already, and the club shouldn't be holding out for him, I mean he's hardly the top drawer.
I knew the confirmation of a back 3 would see this sparked, the thing is nothing changes the fact he gets injured just looking at the grass.
If we're playing 3 at the back, we need 2 more CBs, so Vermaelen as the cheaper option makes sense.
Would be a nice signing. I just feel like Van Gaal has that ability to get the best out of players, like most great managers, and Vermaelen is good at his best.
Cant get the best out of him if he always injured and not playing.
I think 1 would be enough. With 3 defenders you can get away with one of the 3 being Carrick or Fletcher or Keane in a lot of games.
We shouldn't have to be playing those guys at centre back in anything other than an absolute emergency
That's not true. With 3 CB's there's a difference to the defense.
Fletcher and Carrick are both capable defenders, good at keeping shape. That's the nr. 1 thing in a back 3. If you're getting caught 1 on 1 it isn't your fault that you get skinned. You shouldn't get caught in that position in the first place. Carrick and Fletchter are a lot better with the ball than any of our defenders. That's a big plus to have. That's something they have over other teams. That's something you'd want to play against teams weaker than yourself, when you're supposed to dominate possession.
It's not guarantee that a CB that's only played in a back 4 in his life would be better in a back 3 line than Carrick or Fletcher who are seasones veterans of the game who can easily read it from the back. You can't also dismiss Fletcher's leadership ability and 90 minute focus. He can keep the other defenders in shape as well as the midfielders in front of him.
How did it work out that time we played Carrick AND Fletcher in a 3 man defence?
We're playing with a three man defense from the get go know. The players are training that way day in day out. It's not the same when you play 4-4-2/4-4-1/4-2-3-1 for 5 years then suddenly one game in Febuary you play with a 3 man defense once.
I also wasn't talking about playing Carrick and Fletcher at the same time. Them being 1 out of 3 CB's is not a big problem. Thing is, this is a team that's very versed in playing with a back 4 and a midfield 4 or 5 in front of them. If 3 CB's happen to be injured we could play Keane-Fletcher/Carrick-CB at the back or simply revert to a back 4 for a game or two.
Btw, I don't remember what happened last time we played Carrick and Fletcher in a back 3. I don't even remember when we played 3 at the back more than once.
Even I remember that for the sheer amusement.
Wasn't that lose to Fulham? 0:3?
Injury free Vermaleen and moisture free water probably go hand in hand
If he's referring to that game we had Carrick and Fletcher in a back 4 with De Laet at left back and a slow non-442 worthy Darron Gibson in midfield playing 4-4-2. One of the many "why isn't Fabio playing" games. Pogba hadn't joined yet but he saw that game and decided that he'll leave us because of that first 11 choice.
In all seriousness, we had 3 wingers, two strikers, a goalkeeper and a fullback on the bench that game. That's a unique situation in United's PL history (as far as my memory goes). The Blackburn game wasn't nearly as bad.
Please no.
If Wenger makes this even remotely difficult then we should end all interest.
Smalling makes it go like shit off a shovel.
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